


Unofficially

by iaminarage



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Picnic, Well almost, feels and then fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-02-08 05:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1928955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iaminarage/pseuds/iaminarage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryder decides he needs to do something awesome for Unique.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unofficially

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Glee Collage Fest day 4- Water Park

On Thursday of the second to last week of Ryder's senior year, the Glee Club officially stopped listening to Sam. Nationals were over, they'd done well, and the end of the year was in sight. A bunch of them were graduating in less than a week, and no one wanted to dedicate time to random lessons. Sam's were better than Mr. Shue's had been, but they were still lessons.

Instead of singing, they dedicated the entire hour to arguing about weekend plans. They'd all agreed that everyone should do something together, but they eventually had to take a vote on what. The water park won by a couple of votes and they spent the rest of the class making plans.

When they left, Ryder was the last one out the door, or so he thought. As turned to flick the flights out, he realized that Unique was still sitting in her chair at the front of the room, looking forlorn.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he sat back down next to her.

"I wish they'd chosen anything but the water park," Unique replied with a bit of a sniff.

The realization that Unique was on the verge of tears made Ryder's heart sink. Of anyone of his friends, she was the one he could least stand to see hurting.

Ryder was so frustrated with himself for having no idea what was wrong. They weren't together--not officially, not yet--but they'd been getting there. If he was going to be Unique's boyfriend, he shouldn't be so clueless about how she was feeling.

"Terrified of water?" He asked, hoping that being lighthearted would help.

Unique just shook her head and stared down at the floor.

"You can tell me," Ryder said softly. "I mean, not that you have to, but you can."

Another few minutes passed before Unique finally gave another sniff and said, "I can't go to the water park, Ryder. What would I wear?"

It took a moment for Ryder to understand what she meant, but when he did he felt like an idiot. Of course there wasn't really a viable swimwear option for Unique.

"I'm so sorry we didn't think about that at all," Ryder said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer.

"I don't expect you to," Unique replied with a sigh. "You never have to think about this kind of thing."

"Yeah, but  I  should," Ryder said. He didn't want to be let off the hook on this one.

Unique just leaned her head on his shoulder in response and Ryder held her a little tighter.

A few minutes later, Ryder said, "Hey, do you want me to walk you home?"

"I'd love that," Unique said shyly, blushing when he offered to carry her bags.

When Ryder got home, he flopped down on his bed and turned his mind to the problem of making this better. He didn't even try to solve the bathing suit issue. He was at least smart enough to know that he'd only make a mess if he got involved with something that complicated and personal.

Ryder briefly considered asking the others to skip the water park and do something that would be fun for Unique. He had a feeling that something like that would only make Unique feel worse for making everyone else miss out on the water park.

What he needed was a foolproof plan to do something awesome for her instead.

 

* * *

On Saturday around noon, Ryder texted Unique to ask what she was doing for the day. When she said she wasn't doing anything, he told her to meet him at the park at 3pm and wear something she could sit on the ground in. When she expressed confusion about why he wasn't at the water park, he said nothing.

By the the time Unique arrived in the park, Ryder was sitting on a picnic blanket with a basket in front of him.

"Ryder Lynn, what are you doing?" She asked as she walked over to him.

"Having a picnic," he responded, gesturing at his basket.

Unique rested her hands on her hips and gave him a withering look. "And why aren't you at the water park with our friends?"

"I like you better. Sit down with me?"

Unique sighed, but Ryder could tell that her exasperation was only for show. After glaring at him for a second, she gave up and settled herself primly on the blanket next to him.

She relaxed as he started pulling food out of the basket and, after a few minutes, they were laughing and having a good time.

Even after they finished eating, neither of them seemed to have much motivation to leave. They spent another hour after that just sitting close to each other.

Ryder found himself watching intently as Unique talked about how excited she was that she was actually interested in their two summer reading books this year. When she finished, she realized that he was staring and held his gaze.

"Can I kiss you?" Ryder asked, not wanting to be presumptuous.

Unique's eyes widened and she nodded, so Ryder leaned over and pressed their lips together. As they kissed, Unique brought one hand up to rest on Ryder's jaw.

It wasn't a very long kiss, but Ryder was sure that it was the best kiss ever.

When they pulled back, Ryder stood up and reached a hand down to her. "Want to go for a walk?"

Unique took his hand and let him pull her to her feet as she said, "I would love to."

By the time the sun was setting, they'd made their way back to Ryder's house. Ryder had borrowed, rented, or illegally downloaded every movie musical he could think of, and he set them out for Unique to pick.

Unique ended up going with Hairspray. "But the original is better," she said as she handed it to him.

"The musical has Zac Efron. That makes it unbeatable," Ryder replied, affronted on Zefron’s behalf. "Besides, it kind of needed to be a musical."

Before Unique could ask why, his doorbell rang. "I hope you don't mind company. I thought we could have a sing-along," he said.

"What am I going to do with you?" Unique asked with a laugh.

"I can think of a few things," Ryder replied, just a little suggestively, then he went to open the door.

The entire Glee Club--and a few alums--piled into Ryder's house. They all looked tired and a bit sunburned but happy. They'd all also brought blankets and chairs as he'd asked.

Even though he hadn't asked, they'd all also brought a wide variety of movie snacks which they carried with them out to the back yard.

"Where are they going?" Unique asked.

"To watch the movie!" Ryder replied and then he offered her his arm so that he could escort her out to his yard where their friends were setting up facing a large projector screen hung on the side of his house.

Unique just stared at him for a second before saying, "You set up a projector in your back yard!"

"Technically Artie and Lauren did. We thought it would be something fun that everyone could enjoy." Artie had been busy that morning but, even if he hadn't been, he wouldn't have been able to go to the water park either.

Instead of answering, Unique just gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and then went to sit next to Marley.

They all sang their way through Hairspray and the Sweeney Todd before everyone started to nod off. When they second movie ended, they all agreed it was time to go home.

Blaine had offered Unique a ride home, so she pulled Ryder into a corner to talk to him before she left. "Thank you for today, Ryder," she said. "I can't believe you did all this."

Ryder shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "We'll, I wanted you to be happy. Although it's possible I also had ulterior motives."

"Oh really?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I kinda wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend," he replied. "I've kinda been wanting to ask for a long time, but I didn't know how."

Unique's face lit up with a smile, and she surprised Ryder by leaning in and kissing him quickly. When she pulled back she said, "I'd love to be your girlfriend. "


End file.
